Three things shocked me about entrepreneurship at 60.

I left corporate after decades of shipping products.

I knew how to build.

I knew how to lead.

I thought I knew what I was getting into.

I was wrong about the things that would matter most.

I don’t want a boss. I only want partners.

In corporate, I had bosses. Some great, some terrible; most were somewhere between. I managed up, abdicated down, navigated politics; I was very good at playing “the game”. I also hated it.

When I started my entrepreneurial journey, I assumed (assumptions are always dangerous) I was done with all that.

What I didn’t expect: how much true collaboration would matter to me. I did not understand what I NEEDED co-founder to mean. I looked at it like I looked at titles in corporate. Not that big of a deal really, just cool on the resume.

I discovered that If I’m not on equal footing with my co-founders — if someone’s calling shots unilaterally or if I’m deferring when I shouldn’t be — I’m just as unhappy as I was in corporate. Maybe more.

I don’t want hierarchy. I want partners who challenge me, trust me, and build with me.

Turns out that kind of collaboration is harder to find than I thought. And more essential than I imagined.

On a positive note; I now have EXACTLY that in co-founding PivotReady!

12-hour days now give me energy.

Corporate exhausted me. Every hour felt borrowed; no, bought and paid for - transactional without real purpose.

Now I work longer days and wake up energized.

MORE hours. Completely different fuel source.

The difference is ownership. When you’re building something that’s yours, work stops draining you. At 60, I’m having more fun than I did at 40.

Shipping your own product is incomparable.

I’ve launched dozens of products. Global rollouts. Multi-million dollar platforms.

But nothing compares to shipping something you own.

When a customer says “this solved my problem,” it lands differently. When something breaks, the urgency is different. When you hit a milestone, the pride is yours.

For 30 years, I was excellent at building other people’s visions.

Now I’m building mine.

What surprised you most about entering entrepreneurship?